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Time to purge my files of Econoline shots, and we haven’t seen any of the early gen3 versions. There’s little question in my mind that Ford trucks, including Econolines, from the seventies and eighties are the first choice for those looking for a relatively unproblematic beast of burden. But are they in the same league as the legendary Hondas of yore?
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Nice sanguine.
Econolines are designed to be easy to fix, though parts costs (for instance, brakes) on heavy-duty versions can really set you back. It certainly helps to be able to do at least some of your own work.
As for said legendary Hondas of yore, I still have a 1991 Accord EXR I bought new. (It’s predecessor, a Ford, lasted six years before disintegrating.) Despite being the longtime owner of one of these I don’t know much about repair costs outside of routine maintenance. A month ago the heater control knob broke inside behind the dash, and that cost $75 to replace including labor at the dealer. Also this year a headlight bulb went, but I replaced that myself. At 19 years old I suppose some other high-wear part could break soon, but I’m not expecting it to be a big deal.
OT, my experience at the Honda dealer may show how deep the depression is biting. I was able to book a repair appointment just two days away (in the past this could take a week or two). I know from experience to arrive there at 0645 so I can be one of the first people in line and can catch the first courtesy shuttle downtown. Previously, I would arrive early and watch the line of vehicles form behind me in front of the service bay door. This time, I arrived second and only a couple of vehicles came later while I was there. There were only five of us in the shuttle, which departed at around 0730. I didn’t see anyone else arrive for service.
So true regarding the parts. We just replaced the leaf springs on my brother-in-law’s 15-passenger Econoline, the price for new replacements was astounding. Fortunately most junkyards have a few of these lying around.
I’ve worked for a couple companies that used Econolines for deliveries, I don’t remember them needing any work beyond normal maintenance. Very solid vehicles.
Brings back my memories of doing much painting work around campus with a van like that during the summers working for College Maintenance when not taking classes. It was a coed workforce but lets just say we boys were willing but the ladies weren’t. The other strong memory I have is that the 351W under the hood sounded like it was about to throw it’s main bearings all summer.
Maybe it was the belt tensioner, Dan. When I first bought my 94 with the 351, I detected a nasty knock. The Ford Dealer showed me a service bulletin that fingered the belt tensioner. Do not replace it, they said, engineering is working on a fix. Well, a fix eventually came out. It still knocked, just more quietly. It was still making the same noise at 12 yrs old and 164K (and still not using a drop of oil).
On the main point, my 2 cents. The Fords were as durable, but not as trouble free. These Econolines did one thing every bit as well as that generation of Honda – they rusted like crazy in salt country. The 92 rebody was much better here. The newer Eseries will still rust, but it will take many years and a lot of salt.
>>But are they in the same league as the legendary Hondas of yore?
They should have been, considering how basic they were. The only vehicles that appear to have the same aura as Honda were the Valiant and Dart. Iacocca later admitted as much “The Dart and the Valiant ran forever”.
The Falcon was junk by comparison – inferior transmissions, suspension and engines. But the Falcon sold well – just like the Audi inspired Taurus would later.
Ford was never near the top at engineering, marketing was their forte. “Wiz Kid” legacy.
Twin-I-Beam + years of wear on the bushings + high center of gravity + tons of slop in the steering (which is overassisted and has absolutely no feedbackwhatsoever, but that’s another matter) + crosswind = van that changes lanes by itself on the motorway … sometimes regardless of whether the driver wants it or not. I hated driving the junker Econoline camper that a friend of mine had.
And where’s the “econo”? Talk about a misnomer. That heap got about 8 mpg on a good day.
Twin-I-Beam + years of wear on the bushings + high center of gravity + tons of slop in the steering (which is overassisted and has absolutely no feedbackwhatsoever, but that’s another matter) + crosswind = van that changes lanes by itself on the motorway … sometimes regardless of whether the driver wants it or not. I hated driving the junker Econoline camper that a friend of mine had.
During my teens I was a subscriber to “FourWheel and Off Road” magazine. They steadily ragged on the Ford 4x4s that had the similar semi independent front axle as “Constant Steering Correction.”
Thanks for reminding me of the old Accords. What great cars. Lined up next to today’s models they look so much cleaner and down to earth. That car is going to become a collectible classic within the next 10 years as an example of the birth of the modern Japanese car.